Twickenham Rowing Club was founded on 26 July 1860 so is jointly with

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal River Thames, Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As of July 2023, Thames had w ...

the third oldest

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

club on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. The club is on

Eel Pie Island Eel Pie Island is an island (or ait) in the River Thames at Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is on the maintained minimum head of water above Richmond Lock, the only lock on the Tideway, and is accessible by boat ...

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, south-west

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Its boat code is TWK.

Club colours

The club colours are quite dark blue with either magenta bands or in recent decades a single wide such band to split the blade into thirds (blades are usually arranged normally

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ', Old French ', and -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ', and charge on a coat of arms">Latin ' ...

wise). An official source simply specifies the first colour as "blue" and its shade has varied slightly over generations.

History

Henri, Duc D'Aumale Henri Eugène Philippe Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale (16 January 1822 – 7 May 1897) was a leader of the Orleanists, a political faction in 19th-century France associated with constitutional monarchy. He was born in Paris, the fifth son of ...

(the fifth son of the exiled king of France,

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

, who lived at York House in Twickenham) helped to found the club and was its first President from 1860 to 1897. The freehold to the land on which the clubhouse stands was donated to the rowing club in 1876, by HRH Le Comte de Paris, 'King' Philippe VII (1838–1894), Louis Philippe I's grandson and the pretender to the disbanded French throne. The latter's son, Philippe VIII, Duc D'Orleans (1869–1899) became the club's second President from 1898 to 1899.

Construction and facilities

The first

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

was built in 1861/62 as a floating structure and was moored at some point off Twickenham

Ait An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accumu ...

which became known as Eel Pie Island. The boathouse cost £295, a large sum as fully paid for out of ordinary income, by 1866. For a few years the reading room of Twickenham Literary Society was shared as the meeting-up point from 1864. The floating boathouse remained for several years despite sinking on a couple of occasions. When the club became owners of the current site the boathouse was put ashore and finally sold in 1882/83 for a nominal £32. The

Thames Conservancy The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of River Thames, that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines-upon-T ...

provided the ballast to raise the ground level where it rested. By March 1866 the boathouse contained: * 1 Cutler eight, * 2 Gig eights, * 2 Cutler fours, * 2 Gig fours, * 1

Skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats, usually propelled by sails or oars. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for work, leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-pers ...

and * 1 Punt. In 1889 it was proposed by the club and others using the island to build a bridge to the island. The island's first bridge was built in 1957.

Accolades

The Club is one of the founding members of The

Remenham Club The Remenham Club is a private members club near the village of Remenham on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames near Henley-on-Thames, on the reach of the river that plays host to the annual Henley Royal Regatta. It was formed in 1909 by me ...

, a social and event-celebratory club with an enclosure at

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

. Aside from notable national oarsmen and women mentioned top right, Twickenham have won: *A few trophies at the

Head of the River Race The Head of the River Race (HORR) is an against-the-clock ('processional') rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, between eights, other such races being the Schools' Head of the River Race, Women's Head of the River R ...

since 1926. *The novice club pennant (as winners) at the

Women's Eights Head of the River Race The Women's Eights Head of the River Race (WEHoRR) is a processional rowing race held annually on the Tideway of the River Thames in London on the Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney. A mirror of the Eights Head of the River for ma ...

in 1999 *A small number of events in various years at the Fours head *A small number of events at the Pairs head *At Henley Royal Regatta: **Three times at the

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's coxless pairs at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs ...

(these involved Jefferson Lowndes in the 19th century) **The club won the

Thames Challenge Cup The Thames Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's eights at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from a single rowing club A rowing club is a club for people intere ...

in 1879, 1881 and 1884 and was runner-up in 1880, 1911, 1924, 1927 and 1928. The club's top eight reached the quarter-finals in 2014. * Winner of the 1980 British Rowing Championships, Men J16 2x composite

St George's Ladies Rowing Club

The St George's Ladies Rowing Club was merged into the Twickenham Club in 1979. The club had existed for 55 years and won three

British Rowing Championships The British Rowing Championships usually take place every year and are normally held at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont (Nottingham), with occasional championships held at the Strathclyde Country Park Strathclyde Coun ...

in 1972, 1975 and 1977.

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

External links

Twickenham Rowing Club official websiteTwickenham Underground — unofficial website
(and out-of-date) {{LB Richmond 1860 establishments in England Sports clubs and teams established in 1860 Tideway Rowing clubs Boathouses in the United Kingdom Remenham Club Founding Clubs Twickenham Sport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Rowing clubs of the River Thames Prince Philippe, Count of Paris